Cottonwood City Council approved a motion to apply for grant funding of the operations of Cottonwood Area Transit and Verde Lynx during a regular meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 6.

The grant must be applied through the 5311 Rural Public Transportation Program, which addresses mobility needs in rural areas in Arizona.The Federal Transit Administration allocates federal funds annually to provide funding for administrative operating and capital costs of the public transit system.

Last year, former Mingus Union High School District Governing Board President Andy Groseta proposed consolidation of MUHSD and Cottonwood-Oak Creek School District to his Governing Board. Since then, there has been an active discussion of consolidation from members of both districts.

While one group is collecting information to put the issue into the hands of voters, members of the MUHSD board have moved forward with collecting more data to understand the implications of consolidation.

Cliff Castle Casino has upped the ante for guests with the completion of its new hotel — a project that broke ground more than two years ago. The casino and Yavapai-Apache Nation have announced a grand opening celebration for Friday, Feb. 23.

Having a hotel is a significant addition to Cliff Castle, said Director of Marketing James Perry.“Most Arizona casinos have an attached hotel,” he said.

Drivers who use State Route 260 near Cherry Creek Road should plan for overnight closures this week and next while APS works on overhead utility lines.

To perform this work safely, several intermittent 20-minute closures of the roadway in both directions are required overnight Tuesday, Feb. 20. Work is scheduled to begin at 8 p.m. and end by 5 a.m. the following morning.

Verde Valley Fire District responded to a motor vehicle accident at the intersection of State Route 260 and Western Drive on Friday morning.

VVFD was dispatched to a motor vehicle accident blocking the Eastbound lanes of SR 260. Upon arrival, crews found a vehicle with heavy damage to the front end, and one occupant out of the vehicle sitting on the sidewalk.

After 11 years of service as city manager of Cottonwood, Doug Bartosh announced on Thursday, Feb. 8 that he will retire in January of next year.Bartosh said when he took the helm as city manager, his main focus was on improving the quality of life in the city with a stronger code.

“We tried to emphasize making Cottonwood business-friendly,” he said. “I think we’ve always recognized Old Town Cottonwood as a diamond in the rough.”